First posted on Instagram
Fred DeLorey, the former national campaign manager for the Conservative Party of Canada, has delivered a blunt message to Alberta's governing United Conservative Party: if its members are not pro-Canada, they should leave.
"I would put down a flag right now, the United Conservatives are pro-Canada party. If you're not pro-Canada, get out of the party. It should be as simple as that. Will it be? We'll see," DeLorey said in a video clip shared on X on October 24, 2026. DeLorey himself retweeted the clip.
DeLorey, who ran the federal Conservatives' 2021 national campaign and now chairs NorthStar Public Affairs, weighed in days after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith delivered the same message to her own party.
In a video posted on October 21, Smith told United Conservative members who continue to push for separation to accept the referendum result or leave. "The United Conservative Party is not an independence party, and for those few who cannot reconcile this fact and remain intent on dividing and turning our party into a vehicle for the independence movement, I would respectfully invite them to join a different party," Smith said.
Smith's message followed Monday's referendum vote, in which about three-quarters of Albertans rejected starting a legal process toward a binding separation referendum, according to unofficial results. Smith said there would be no further referendum on separation while she is premier, and that UCP candidates must support "a strong Alberta within a united Canada" from the day they take out nomination papers through their time in caucus.
The party's identity has been openly contested for months. A CBC investigation published on October 9 examined the growth of separatist influence and relationships within the UCP, including Smith's attendance at a 2025 constituency fundraiser where prominent separatists were seated alongside her. On October 15, UCP president Rob Smith rebuked calls to remove the party's separatist wing, following former premier Jason Kenney's argument that people whose primary objective is separation should pursue it through a separatist party rather than a party committed to Canada.
Some UCP figures have pushed back against Smith's leadership over the issue. Jeffrey Rath, one of the most prominent figures in the independence movement, has said he will push for a special general meeting of the party to remove her. Smith last faced a leadership review in 2024, which she won with 91.5 per cent support. Caucus member Jason Stephan, who represents Red Deer-South, confirmed to CBC that he voted in favour of a second referendum on separation.
DeLorey's intervention lands as the party turns toward a general election next year, with Smith saying its focus must now be beating the NDP "in every single riding in this province."
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